Earl Grey Extra Aromatic Tea

For the "extreme" Earl Grey lover, we've added more Bergamot oil to our famous Earl Grey tea to make Earl Grey Extra. This blend was originally formulated by Mr. Vail for his many Eastern European customers.

Earl Grey teas, traditionally, were blends comprised of varying black teas with Bergamot oil added to them. Today, any tea (green, white, herbal) that is sprayed with Bergamot oil is known as Earl Grey (such as our Emerald Green Earl Grey, Rooibos Earl Grey, …). Every tea merchant carries an Earl Grey black tea blend, but they are all very different due to the variations in black teas used for the blend and the quality of the bergamot oil. Here at Simpson & Vail we use high quality bergamot oil.

Bergamot oil comes from the rind of the bergamot orange, which grows on the citrus tree Citrus bergamia. The oil expressed from the rind is used, in addition to making Earl Grey tea blends, quite frequently in the cosmetic industry. Bergamot oil can be found in soaps, lotions, oils and perfumes and has been said to help alleviate depression as well as used as a digestive aid and used to help skin irregularities (such as psoriasis).

Earl Grey tea is a favorite with bakers in many culinary recipes. It goes especially well with cakes, cookies, confections and any recipe with chocolate!

Place butter and cream in a small pan. Heat until butter melts and mixture boils. Remove from the heat. Add the Earl Grey Extra tea to the butter/cream mixture and steep for 25 minutes covered.

When steeped, strain the mixture and place in a double boiler on the stove. Add chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted. Cool, then stir in orange oil.

To form you can
(1) Transfer mixture to a bowl. Cool in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally. When firm enough to handle, form teaspoonfuls of mixture into uneven balls. Place some cocoa onto greaseproof paper. Roll each truffle in the cocoa until they are generously coated. Refrigerate until firm. Or
(2) Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper. Pour mixture in and refrigerate until firm enough to cut. Lift chocolate out of pan and place on a flat surface. With a knife cut the chocolate into small squares and dust with sifted cocoa. Store in an airtight container.

Truffles keep for approx. 2 weeks in the refrigerator or about 4 weeks frozen.

Put the flour, almonds, salt, confectioners' sugar and ground Earl Grey tea in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat together the egg and vanilla extract in a bowl, then, with the food processor running, add it to the flour mixture and process until it starts to come together into a dough. Press into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼" thick, then cut out rounds using a cookie cutter, re-rolling any trimming to make more cookies. Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and prick with a fork. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

When cool, put jam on one cookie and place another cookie on top to make a cookie/jam "sandwich". Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with a cup of Simpson & Vail tea!

(recipe adapted from "Afternoon Tea" by Susannah Blake)

Customer Reviews

Best I have ever had

9/27/2017

I very much enjoyed this Earl Grey tea I have always been a fan not really knowing much about it just know that I enjoyed it very much. I ordered this with their consultation calling in one day. They have made the suggestion that this is a normal earl grey and that there's an extra earl gray which I'm going to order next. I would say to order this without hesitation. It is the best quality and flavor I ever had of an earl grey, great tea.

- Steve, OH

Pleasant

12/23/2016

This is a great flavor Earl Grey, strong but not over-powering. I like this for morning tea, really perks me up!

- Tina Bradley, NH

Best Earl Grey

10/2/2016

We have been enjoying this tea for 20+ years and still drink it every morning. The balanced tea blend and the extra bergamot make this irreplaceable!

You can really taste the extra bergamot in this tea. It makes for a fantastic taste that lingers after you finish your cup. Perfect for waking me up in the morning, or keeping me awake at work!

- CASSIE WILLIAMS, AR

The Earl-iest Grey

5/9/2016

This tea was calling forth from the package before I could get it out of the box. If you dont even like tea, use it a potpourri!! It makes an AMAZING cup of tea. The flavor is really exceptional! My only regret is that I didnt buy more!

AMY FORD

A great Earl Grey

8/5/2015

Has a strong flavor that stands up well to a dash of milk, and it would probably blend quite well with other teas when I want an extra punch of Earl Grey flavor. I think I may have found the not-at-all-basic basic Earl Grey that Ive been looking for.

- Morrisa N, TN

Elegant and flavorful

3/3/2015

Lovely blend with extra flavor that lingers beautifully on the tongue.

- Theresa Greenwald, OH

Extra good

3/3/2015

This Earl Grey Extra Tea is one of my teas that I drink on a daily basis at work. I LOVE the extra bergamot. The aroma draws me into the perfect cup of tea as I begin my work day not to mention that I receive many compliments on the aroma in the office. No need to buy potpourri now. LOL

- Dena, TX

Pleasantly Surprised

9/2/2014

I have JUST finished my very first cup of Earl Grey Extra. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this tea! I am not a true Earl Grey tea lover but wanted to try several of the S & V teas, so I placed this on my list. I was very afraid that it would be too perfumey to my taste. It was not. It was PERFECT. I actually love it and would not mind drinking it every morning.